Segments in this Video

Chernobyl's Cafe: Introduction(01:38)

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See archival news footage of the April 26, 1986 nuclear power plant accident; radioactive material was projected into the air for several days. An area of 30 kilometers around the plant was evacuated and closed. Cleaning crews were exposed to lethal doses of radiation.

Returning to Contaminated Land(04:07)

Checkpoint Dityatky marks the entrance to the forbidden zone around Chernobyl. Approximately 600 people live in Chernobyl following the 15 day rule. Water pipes are above ground.

Cafe Ten(02:52)

In 2013, a cafe opened 10 kilometers from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant; devices continuously monitor radioactivity. Manager Pachkevytch Sergej Leonidovitch describes the clientele; Anna discusses her decision to work at the cafe.

Chernobyl Tourism(03:00)

Tourists join plant workers at Cafe Ten for lunch before traveling to Pripyat. They enter the 10 km zone around the nuclear power plant and see the new sarcophagus. The car crosses over "the bridge of death."

Pripyat: 1986(03:29)

See archival footage of the city; radiation flashes are visible and residents go about their business. Helicopters attempt to put out the flames and reduce radiation while the army measures radioactivity. Officials evacuate the city of nearly 50,000.

Pripyat: Today(05:19)

Barbed wire surrounds the city and access is guarded; see the swimming pool and a schoolyard. Plants in the area have mutated DNA. The city has some of the most contaminated spots in the area.

Pripyat Hospital and Port(02:46)

The hospital is one of the most radioactive places in the world, yet some people risk lethal doses to visit it. Fishing is prohibited in the area; see a sinking moored boat and a tavern. Sergej Dihtjarenko guides tourists through the area and educates them on the disaster.

Morbid Tourism(02:37)

A Ferris wheel became the symbol of Pripyat. Nobody knows the true impact of radiation on the body of tourists. Dihtjarenko recalls the return of a former resident.

Looters Risk Contamination(02:42)

Looters target villages surrounding the Chernobyl accident site that were not bulldozed and buried. Approximately 6 million tons of radioactive metal has been taken.

Post-Chernobyl Ukrainians (01:59)

Elina Milevich, who regularly visits the area, considers the different perspectives about visiting the area around Chernobyl.

Samossioly(03:48)

Several families including Ivan and his wife Maria live in the forbidden zone. Ivan returned to his village and became a guard at Chernobyl in 1987. He did not participate in dismantling irradiated military metals like other Samossioly, but he was exposed to high levels of cesium.

Misha Teslenko(02:57)

Some animals and insects have adapted to the radiation. Teslenko works for the city of Chernobyl and regularly visits Cafe Ten; he describes life in the city. Pregnant women and children under 18 are prohibited in the 30 km zone.

Lenin Plant(02:07)

The sarcophagus around Reactor 4 is no longer sealed; the building is unstable. Novarka workers construct a mobile arch that will cover the plant.

Inside the Lenin Plant(04:45)

Around the clock surveillance occurs inside the plant. The golden corridor leads to strategic places and Reactor 4. Ten plants use a similar style of technology; the one in Leningrad was the site of a similar incident to the 1986 disaster.

Reactor 4(03:14)

Radioactivity in areas along the corridor is variable; see the sarcophagus wall. Behind a red door lies corium. Hundreds of thousands of people have worked to decontaminate the area.

Chernobyl Anniversary(01:29)

Family members of the liquidators enter the city and mark the 29th anniversary of the disaster. Radiation affected the lives of survivors and their children.

Return to Chernobyl(01:57)

Man has returned to the area 30 years after the nuclear power plant disaster. In 2011, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich announced he wants to resume farming on irradiated land.

Description

Thirty years after the famous nuclear reactor explosion, Chernobyl is once more showing signs of life. As the fears of older generations are replaced by the fascination of the new, Chernobyl is emerging as a popular tourist destination, and local industry is on the rise. But with radiation levels still dangerously high, questions remain over whether the region can ever truly recover.